Open houses are one of the best methods of generating leads for your house sale. However, their effectiveness is dependent on good planning and proper preparation. Here are tips to help you prepare and plan for a successful open house.

Know the market trends

Property buyers have become more savvy and well-informed. You need to be up-to-date with the current market trends and understand your potential clients well. For instance, depending on the type and location of the house, you should be able to tell whether your target clients are millennials or older people. In which case, if you should do your research to determine the key factors they put into consideration when buying a home. Know similar properties for sale in your location and their price.  Such information will help you to set price for your house, determine the appropriate home preparations and renovations and choose the right channels for marketing your open house.

Prep your home for the open house.

Start by decluttering the entire house. Identify items that you no longer use in each room and get rid of them or put them away in a storage facility. Clean each corner of the house, even the hard to reach places. If you are a pet owner, you’ll need to remove pet odors. You also must clean your carpeting, countertops, floors and sinks.

Organize and depersonalize the house. Remove family photos on the walls. Put extra furniture from each room in storage and arrange it to give an impression of spaciousness. Throw in some bright pillows on the sofa to make the living room warm and cozy.

You want to create a good first impression both on your marketing materials and during the day of the showing.  Creating an inviting curb appeal will set the tone of how your home looks inside, so you’ll need to accentuate the architectural focal points such as windows, shutters, front door, mail box and flower boxes. Experts recommend that you freshen up your home’s exterior with a  fresh coat of paint. Manicure your yard by trimming and shaping shrubs and the lawn, and removing debris.

Schedule and advertise for the open house

Set a date and time for the open house that does not conflict with major national events and public holidays. Sunday afternoons work well. Check the weather forecast, so that you do not schedule for a rainy or cold day.

Leverage on both the online and offline platforms to let the word out about your upcoming open house. Post your listing on the relevant listing platforms available online. Put up an open house signs strategically such as outside your property and at junctions nearby. Place a poster on the local advertisements board. Tell your friends, family, colleagues, and family about it and ask them to spread the word. If you are overseeing the open house, invite a real estate agent or a local industry leader so they can help you to generate leads.

Hire professionals

Organizing an open house on your own can be overwhelming. Although hiring professionals such as landscapers, a realtor and cleaners will come at an extra cost. It will take away the stress from you and help you to position your home to fetch the highest cost.

In the case where you have hired a realtor, you do not need to be present at the open house. The realtor will oversee its marketing and answer potential buyers’ questions. They also have an objective eye to see any aspects that can put off interested buyers and will offer expert advice on how to mitigate such. Also, realtors are well-acquainted with industry trends, therefore, will help you price your home accordingly. They can tap into their networks to sell your house in the shortest time possible.

Open houses take a lot of work, but it is all worthwhile because it helps you generate leads to sell your house faster and at a good price. From cleaning up, properly staging and marketing, each step plays a critical role in ensuring your open house is a success.

Suzie Wilson

info@happierhome.net

Happier Home

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